ON LOVE; PART MCDXLVII
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FIRST IS THE GREAT COMMANDMENTS: “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).
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WHAT THEN IS LOVE? In a general sense love is benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men. While this IS from an older definition of Charity, which IS rendered in the King James Bible from the same Greek word agape which IS generally rendered as Love, we should amend our own definition here to include the idea that in the reality of Love a man will accord to ALL men ALL things that he would accord to himself and to say that Love IS our thoughts and attitude of the equality of ALL men regardless of their outward nature or appearance…that ALL ARE equally children of Our One God.
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PLUS THE EVER IMPORTANT AND HIGH IDEAL TAUGHT TO US BY THE CHRIST: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).
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We ended the last essay with a reference to the Apostle Paul’s statements on agape from his First Epistle to the Corinthians. The apostle’s words define agape for us and while his defining ideas ARE understood by most ALL in carnal terms, the reality of their spiritual Truth IS evident to ALL who will look deeper into the meaning of the Greek words. Like many words in the New Testament and the Old, Paul’s words here ARE NOT seen for the spiritual value because the concepts behind his words ARE NOT understood. And, the way that the King James translators rendered his use of agape as charity DID NOT help the understanding of the church. We should understand here that the King James translators DID NOT err in this rendering as the idea of charity closely followed the idea intended by Paul at the time but, over time, the idea has become a carnal one that IS misunderstood even as such. This we discuss in the preamble to our essays where we use the Webster’s 1828 Dictionary which tells us that charity IS: In a general sense, love, benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men1. While Webster’s goes on to a more specific list, the majority of their meanings ARE specifically carnal but DO allow us to see charity in the same light as Love as a rendering of agape. We have discussed in depth Paul’s defining ideas for agape in previous essays but will touch upon our spiritual conversion of the rendered words here as our objective IS ever to better understand agape and its role in the True salvation of men. Paul begins his words with the final statement from the previous chapter, a chapter that sets the stage for his defining ideas. After writing about the ways of men in the church, about their views and his regarding what ARE called “spiritual gifts“, he ends this part saying that men should “covet earnestly the best gifts” before telling them “and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way“(1 Corinthians 12:1, 31). The apostle’s “more excellent way” follows saying:
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away“.
1 Corinthians 13:1-8
While these words should be seen as an amplification and clarification of Jesus’ words, they have instead been put into a seemingly virtuous group of sayings centered around the idea of Love between individuals. This of course was NOT Paul’s intent in citing these ideas about agape which can seldom be applied as that Love between people. Paul begins by telling us that without an expression of agape that He IS nothing, that his words ARE as noise, as a “sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal“, when they ARE NOT uttered in this agape Love. Most specifically however Paul IS speaking to the Corinthians here following up on his teaching from the previous chapter regarding “spiritual gifts” as he tells them and us that such gifts ARE worthless in the absence of our expression of agape. In this same context of gifts Jesus tells us that without keeping His words such things, such gifts if you will, will ONLY result in the Lord’s saying “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:22-23). Can we see the point here and can we see the unending relationship between keeping His words and expressing agape as it IS intended to be expressed which IS to everyman equally. We should try to understand that while we express agape we have ALL of the aspects cited by Paul working in that expression, the most important point IS in his closing of this segment; he tells us that charity agape never faileth. ALL else in and out of men’s sense of religion will fail but agape IS that Universal expression of the Soul that never DOES fail. Here we could say that as God IS so agape IS, infinite and eternal and inseparable from this Truth as the Father and the Son. Ponder on this and on the Apostle John’s kindred saying that “we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). In John’s saying we should understand that his target IS those that “dwelleth in God, and God in him” which idea IS clearly espoused by the Master in our trifecta which we repeat here:
- “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
- “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
- “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:21-24).
Our point here IS simply that as “God IS love“, so IS ALL that IS of God; ALL then IS agape save for this carnal world which IS born in vanity and corruption and which must express the agape that IS behind it; this IS the goal of ALL evolution. Paul tells us that to be One with the Lord, adopted if you will, IS to be Redeemed and as this IS True of the individual, it IS also True of the world. While this idea IS used in the doctrinal church, the whole meaning of being Redeemed has been lost in the dogma that tells us that men ARE Redeemed by the death of the Master. Should we look at this idea of Redemption using the words from the Master and from John above we should be able to discern a greater Truth. Again John tells us “he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him” and Jesus tells us that to have the Presence of God in our lives we must keep His words which He tells us IS tantamount to Loving the Lord; it IS in this condition that we ARE Redeemed by the Presence of the Lord, by the inflowing energy of the Christ Within, which Paul tells us IS “the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body“. It IS in this state of Redemption that we ARE “as he is“. Here we should understand that the central point of ALL of Jesus’ teaching IS agape understood as He teaches us and as His apostles amplify and clarify. Our journey IS briefly described by Paul but we must understand that his words ARE intended for the man that has seen some measure of the Truth through Jesus words saying “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free“. Paul tells us:
“the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in
Romans 8:20-23).hope, Becauseexpectation that the creature itself also shall bedeliveredmade free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body“
Paul IS showing us the journey from vanity, from being caught in “the bondage of corruption“, to the “glorious liberty of the children of God“. It IS in this “glorious liberty” that we ARE those adopted sons, those that can experience “the redemption of our body“. This IS “the manifestation of the sons of God” and it IS to those in this state that John says “as he is, so are we in this world“. While much of the church actively denies that men can be as Christ, as the Lord, the words of the New Testament reveal quite a different view of Life in this world. To be sure there ARE likely some in this world today that ARE among these “sons of God” who quietly go about their work of expressing Truth and Love and it IS when enough such men ARE in this world that True progress can be made toward the freedom of ALL. Jesus was a man in this world but a man who was imbued with ALL the qualities of the Soul, the Christ Within, and the wherewithal to express these qualities in the fullness of the Power of the Spirit that IS God. John tells us that ALL can partake of this fullness which Peter frames for us as being “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). Can we see the point here? Can we see that to be such a partaker we ARE in league with the Master who tells us Himself that “The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master” (Luke 6:40). We should note here that in Luke’s Gospel this saying IS a part of Luke’s version of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount which somewhat reflects upon the closing statement from Matthew’s sayings that we discussed in the last post and repeat here:
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect“
Matthew 5:43-48
Should we marry Jesus’ words on agape with our trifecta we could then see the simplicity of it ALL which, while simple, IS a difficult undertaking for those yet encumbered by their vanity and their view that this world IS their Life. The Master tells us in the trifecta that our Love for the Lord IS determined by our ‘willingness’ to keep His words; He tells us that those that “hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me” and this we should ever connect to the first of the Great Commandments. He tells us also that the KEY to having the Presence of the Lord in one’s Life in whatsoever form one can imagine requires that one must “keep my words“; here we should see that His commandment that we “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” IS the pinnacle of His commandments and that in DOING this one will live in accord with the second of the Great Commandments. To further our understanding of agape as this KEY, Paul offers us what we could consider a shortcut to attaining the Truth that Jesus tells us comes to those that will “continue in my word“. The apostle tells us “For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Romans 13:9) and in these words we should try to understand the relationship between His commandments and the law as offered us by Moses. The Master tells us in our trifecta that His words and the words of the Lord spoken through Moses ARE the same as He shows us that “the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me“. In this we should understand that to “love thy neighbour as thyself” IS the fulfillment of the law and the Way by which we can live in accord with the Great Commandments as we become “partakers of the divine nature“. And so that we ARE NOT left to wonder the meaning of his words to the Romans, the apostle tells us again that “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5:14). It IS when we can “love thy neighbour as thyself” that we will, as a matter of course, live in accord with the rest of His words and the words of the Father through Moses. It IS when we can “love thy neighbour as thyself” that we can enter “into the glorious liberty of the children of God” which IS NOT different than Jesus’ telling us that it IS “he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” that “shall enter into the kingdom of heaven“. We should understand both of these accomplishments as our realization of Truth here and now as we live in this world as True disciples of the Lord. James also helps us by explaining a significant point in our attempts to “love thy neighbour as thyself” which IS that we must DO so with NO “respect to persons“; this shows us that everyman, every neighbor, must be seen in the same Light, as a Soul expressing Life through form while encumbered by the vanity to which ALL ARE subjected. James tells us “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:8-10).
Any intelligent reading of the Master’s words and the amplifying and clarifying words of His apostles away from the dogma into which one has been nurtured and indoctrinated should show clearly the importance of agape in the spiritual pursuits of everyman. And while many may disagree with the need to offer this Love, express it in ALL interactions, with NO “respect to persons“, we ARE convinced that this IS the Way of the Lord and if a man IS ever to be “perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” this world view IS required. Having NO “respect to persons” IS the epitome of Jesus’ teaching on agape and perhaps the simplest way to “love thy neighbour as thyself” with intent. The Apostle Luke offers us a version of Jesus’ words on being perfect that uses the idea of mercy and in the context of agape we should try to see that the ideas presented by both ARE synonymous, that this perfection and being merciful ARE the same in regard to our interactions with the world of men, our interactions with our neighbor. Luke, as part of the same ideas on agape from Jesus’ Sermon, tells us “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:36); it would be foolish to believe that he IS NOT showing us the same “more excellent way” as IS Matthew. The Greek word oiktirmon which IS rendered as merciful IS a derivative of the Greek word oiktos which IS NOT the most used word to be rendered as mercy and in this we may get a glimpse of the depth of Luke’s idea. Vincent, in comparing the Greek words used in James’ saying that “the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy” (James 5:11) tells us that: Very pitiful and of tender mercy [πολυσπλαγχνος και οικτιρμων]. The former adjective only here in New Testament; the latter here and Luke 6:36. Rev., full of pity and merciful. Polusplagcnov, is from poluv much, and splagcna the nobler entrails, used like our heart, as the seat of the emotions. Hence the term bowels in the A. V. (Philippians 1:8; Colossians 3:12, etc.). Compare eusplagcnoi, tender – hearted, Ephesians 4:32. The distinction between this and oijktirmwn, merciful, seems to be that the former denotes the general quality of compassion, while the latter emphasizes the sympathy called out by special cases, being the feeling which is moved to pain at another’s suffering4. We should note here that James IS speaking of the Lord while Jesus IS telling us that we should be as the Lord. The other Greek word rendered in terms of mercy IS eleos which IS used to generally depict mercy in the New Testament and here we should try to see a special meaning in the use of oiktirmon that shows us mercy as a quality of the Godhead; it IS NOT the mercy asked for or cited by the Master. It IS eleos that IS the expression of men in this world and while the idea IS understood in terms of kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them2a as the lexicon tells us, the reality IS that eleos mercy IS far more related to agape and can be understood biblically as the expression of agape by men over a broad variety of applications. For the man whose focus IS on the self and the self in the world we should see that the lexicon and dictionaries DO show us a meaning for mercy as a virtue in this world. However, for the man that IS somewhat focused on the things of God, the idea turns to expressions of Love as this mercy flows from the Christ Within as such men attempt to “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful“. It IS this expression of agape to ALL as the Light of the Soul begins to control the carnal self that IS synonymous with the perfection of God, perfect Love if you will.
The Master closes this section of His Sermon on the Mount: with a call to men to “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” and while the doctrinal church may tell us that this IS NOT possible, the reality IS that they ARE wrong and this wrongness has ever been a blight on the ability of men to so achieve. The point here IS that when the ‘authoritative’ church tells men that a thing IS NOT possible, it quickly falls out of favor with the masses based upon that sense of authority taken by and given to the church by men. Jesus however recognizes that men will use whatsoever power they may have to dictate self-serving ideas as Truths. He uses the words of the Prophet Isaiah which were spoken against the Jews many centuries before to chide the Jews of His day and we should try to see and to understand the timelessness of His words against this authority taken by men. Isaiah told the Jews in his day that “Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men” (Isaiah 29:13) and while these words ARE considered a prophecy in Jesus’ day, the reality IS that they were addressed to those in Isaiah’s day. John Gill shows us this saying: which prophecy, though it was directed to, and suited with many in that generation in which the prophet lived, yet had a further view to the Jews in after times: their own writers acknowledge, that the whole prophecy is spoken of that nation8. While it should be clear that Isaiah’s words were intended for his times and later as a prophecy as Jesus frames them, the Christian churches have never entertained the idea that the reach of these words goes well beyond the Jews. Most will NOT admit the the target of the Master’s rephrasing of the idea IS NOT ONLY the Jews but ALL who practice such hypocrisy where men claim to follow the Lord but instead follow their own self-serving ideas. Jesus tells us that “ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:6-9). We cite these words from Jesus frequently in our essays; we DO so to expose the greater Truth of a Christianity that has for centuries chosen their own sense of traditions over the words of the Lord as they have rendered His words moot in favor of their ‘selected’ words from His apostles. Thus, while Jesus teaches us to “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” or the synonymous idea that men should “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful“, the church has emphasized both the impossibility of DOING this and their alternate ideas of salvation through rites and rituals and other ideas garnered from Paul’s words: that one CAN NOT save himself.
We should understand here that the idea of tradition IS NOT as we understand the word today; rather it refers to the effective “commandments of men” that were put in place of the Truth in every era. To be sure, the effective ideas of the various parts of the church today ARE the ‘traditions‘ established by every denomination and sect, ‘traditions‘ that govern the religious lives of their followers. While it should be apparent to ALL that this IS the state of the denominational churches today, the idea plays NO part in the practice of doctrinal religions as most ALL see their doctrines as ‘given by God’ and this despite the stark differences between such doctrines and the words of the Lord whose most basic commandment IS that we keep His words. This IS made abundantly clear in our trifecta where it IS the whole idea of His words that give the Truth, the Kingdom and His Presence to those that will strive to keep His words. It IS against keeping His words that much of the doctrinal ideas of men channel their thoughts as most ALL look to deflect the Master’s rules in favor of the seemingly simpler way of the churches and whether we call this dynamic as men seeking to allow themselves to live as men or we call it by any other name, the reality IS that it IS in their vanity that they choose to live. And while this may NOT be a conscious decision by men, it IS nonetheless a decision to NOT follow the words of the Master, most ALL of which ARE centered in agape and our equal expression of this Love to ALL. Vincent describes this vanity as a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4 and in this we should be able to see and understand that this vanity IS the illusion and the glamour of men. Through their religious pursuits most believe that they ARE pursuing God and this IS but a part of their illusion while their glamour uses this illusion to foster ideas of righteousness that sets them apart from others both individually and corporately. We should remember here that against ALL religious ideas and the icons that the world has established the Apostle Paul DOES show us “a more excellent way” and it IS unfortunate that most ALL DO NOT understand this in spiritual terms that ARE fully aligned with the Master’s words on Love that we have been discussing.
Returning to Paul’s words to the Corinthians on agape we should remember that the rendering of agape into ideas of charity IS a misunderstood concept in today’s vernacular. While today’s defining ideas ARE most ALL given in terms of helping others that ARE perhaps less fortunate by giving of one’s money, possessions or time, the reality of the idea IS better illustrated in the Webster’s 1828 dictionary. It is such definitions that led the King James translators to choose charity over Love in Paul’s writing and in other places (agape IS rendered as charity in about a quarter of its appearances in the New Testament with most of these being in these words from Paul). Webster’s lists the idea of giving as the fourth defining idea calling charity: Alms; whatever is bestowed gratuitously on the poor for their relief1 as they then go on to cite some ‘religious’ meaning for the idea. Webster’s primary definition of charity IS that which we paraphrase in the intro to our essays as we try to define Love in more spiritual terms. Webster’s tells us that charity IS: In a general sense, love, benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men1. It IS of course the idea of GoodWill that we should understand as the heart of this idea of charity which we have cited in the past saying that GoodWill IS Love in action and from both the meanings cited above and the biblical use of the ideas we should be able to see the close relationship between agape Love and mercy. Both ARE generally understood in carnal terms of kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them2a while both have Truly spiritual meanings. Perhaps we should try to see the rendering of agape into charity as a way to deflect from the common understanding inherent in rendering agape as Love, another concept that IS fully misunderstood. Paul tells us of the incompleteness of the disciple in the absence of agape and we should add here that without our expression of agape in our interactions with others we CAN NOT actually be disciples; this the Master tells us in our trifecta saying “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed” (John 8:31). We should ever understand here that agape IS the crux of ALL of the Master’s teaching as well as the central point of Moses teachings in the Old Testament and while the reality of this IS readily apparent, it IS missed by most ALL who rely upon their doctrinal interpretations of the One Truth. Paul tells us that without an expression of this Love that a man speaking of the Lord IS “become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal“. He tells us that without an expression of this Love any and ALL spiritual ‘gifts‘ that one may presume to have ARE for naught as he says “though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity agape, I am nothing” and from this we should try to see the fallacy of such a presumption. The apostle also tells us that expressions of charity and of mercy carnally understood ARE meaningless in the absence of agape saying that “though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity agape, it profiteth me nothing“. Can we see the point here? Can we see that it IS ONLY in our expression of True agape Love that we can benefit spiritually and that such an expression IS the Way of the disciple and the aspirant to discipleship. This should be the lesson from Paul’s words as well as the Master’s in the opening part of His Sermon on the Mount.
The fifth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel IS our introduction to the depth of His teaching and while the word ideas that he presents ARE seemingly parabolic, ALL whose focus IS upon the Lord should be able to comprehend what this teaching IS. Jesus covers those virtuous ideas that bring blessing and here we should remember that the context IS NOT carnal but spiritual and that His words should be interpreted in that way. He goes on to show us that as True followers we must actively be the “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13, 14) as a spiritual foundation for the Kingdom of God here in this Earth. It IS by our demeanor and our example that the world will see the reality of agape. It IS this example expressed by many of which Paul tells us that “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God” (Romans 8:18-19). As Jesus begins to show us the rules, the commandments if you will, that will lead men to this glory, He intersperses ideas of conduct and agape but we should note here that this conduct IS but a part of the comportment of those that ARE striving to follow the Lord and focus upon the things of God. In the next essay we will begin with the Master’s more specific rules, rules that outline the difference between the man whose focus IS yet carnal and those that ARE striving to focus on the things of God. After His words on agape we which we have been discussing the Master’s teaching becomes one of choices for the reader and it IS unfortunate that such choices have been muted by the attitude of the church over the centuries, an attitude that DOES NOT attend to the choices that Jesus offers us. From almsgiving to prayer to thinking most always about the self and the way of the self in this world, the Master shows us the Way and He DOES so with a clarity that CAN NOT be escaped but escaped it has been since the beginning of the authoritative church.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 1 Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913 from https://1828.mshaffer.com/
- 2a New Testament Greek lexicon on biblestudytools.com
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
- * Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
